Planeptune's Heritage
by Pudding and Candy
Summary: As Uzume settles in a comfortable life in the Hyperdimension, she then turns her attention to the history of Planeptune. However, she soon finds out that there is a big gap within the recorded history and begins the unravel this small oddity, leading to her finding out the truth about what happened with Uranus and also something unexpected.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** IF/CH has the rights to HDN franchise, but here's hoping that they would expand on some of the lore soon.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Insecure Feeling**

A few weeks passed by with peace settling down in the world that is Gamindustri. Of course, the four nations and their CPUs have slowly went back to their daily lives as usual, except this time they also had more friends because of their latest adventure through the dimensions along with a rewrite. Most importantly though, the one known as Uzume Tennouboshi was alive and well within the Hyperdimension while exploring the land. Travelling alongside her is the Adult Neptune, who had nothing better to do but eat pudding and other delicacies in this dimension.

Unlike the Adult Neptune, who was free to do whatever she wishes to do, the other Neptune-the CPU... also liked to do whatever she wishes. However, being a CPU in the times after conflict meant that there had to be tons of work done. While slacking off from the CPU was expected and not all surprising, the Oracle Histoire still had a bit of trouble keeping that Neptune on task. Both Uzume and the Adult Neptune were not surprised by this fact either, they often made Planeptune their home given their own unique history with the city. Sometimes, Uzume did worry for the future of Planeptune with the way Neptune handles everything, but she was not one to really say much given that she would have done mostly the same things as Neptune.

Yet, that was the main point of interest. Now that Uzume has had some time to "catch up" on the technological, social, economic, and political updates to the Hyperdimension, she began to turn her attention to the history of Planeptune, the nation that she so loved. After all, just how did the nation do after she disappeared? What happened to Uranus? And most importantly, when did Neptune become the CPU? The answers must all lie within the history of Planeptune. Naturally, the best source of information for history, and especially dealing with Planeptune, would involve Histoire. As Uzume opened the door, she clearly saw that Histoire had to give Neptune another lecture on skipping out on working as a CPU again.

"Uzume! You've come to save me!" Neptune exclaimed, running away from Histoire already.

"Hey Nepsy, good to see you're doing well!" Uzume replied, nothing better than seeing the current CPU ever so happy compared to her reign.

"Neptune! I am not finished here," Histoire said from the other end of the room, clearly not impressed with Neptune's attitude towards work as always.

"Ah Histoire, there's no need to keep going at it for too long. After all, even I didn't work every single day when I was ruling over Planeptune."

"Yes, but you do know Uzume, unlike you, Neptune wouldn't work _unless_ I tell her to, especially when Gamindustri is rebuilding right now."

"I am sure it'll be fine, I hear that Nepsy handled it well during that shift period, right?"

"Yep! We've worked about 10 years worth of work in that last adventure, so let's get some pudding to relax!" Neptune replied, now running out of the room and getting way further away from Histoire.

"Oh dear, why do _all_ of Planeptune's CPUs always end up like this?"

"Haha, maybe it's just how it is. Actually Histoire, that's why I have come here today. I have seen many great things as I travelled around this world for awhile now, but I am actually interested in finding out the history of this place after I sealed away myself."

"Very well... follow me," Histoire replied, leading Uzume to a library in the back.

In the very space of the room, there were some tombs that were similar to the one that Histoire was sitting on, all neatly organised and arranged. This was surprising for Uzume, it would appear Histoire had kept going about her function with recording history all this time. For Uzume, this place felt nostalgic, almost as if all the history within the tombs was home, as well as a direct connection between her and then current world.

"Here we are, this is what I have gathered throughout time. However, even I do not necessarily remember every single detail recorded, but should you have something you need, I will try to assist you."

"Thank you Histoire, this will be great, finding out what has happened!"

Uzume had taken a few tombs, some of it were recorded history of Planeptune while others were world history to give the situation context. Like most Planeptune CPUs, Uzume usually had no interest for something like sitting still (with the exception of napping) and reading or such, but after running around for a few weeks had her curious about Planeptune. It also came at a good time too, since the Adult Neptune had decided to drop in and visit her home in Ultradimension Planeptune (Uzume went with her once, but then got PTSD upon seeing the CPU there transform). Obviously CPU Neptune had work and Nepgear was probably at also work or making her next wacky invention, and so it left Uzume all the time in the world. Finally diving into the history of the era just after her time, Uzume reads through the history of Planeptune:

"Gamindustri, land of the four nations of Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox ruled by their own CPUs Magenta Heart, Blue Heart, Red Heart, and Viridian Heart respectively. In this era, the nations were always competing for global supremacy and often kept to themselves. Peace was very far and between, as the CPUs never had a good stable relationship with each other. Yet, the general populace often lived in peace within their respective nations without too much conflict unless it was the rare time the nations went out to war directly against each other. However, each time war broke out, it never lasted for too long as the CPUs understand that a long war of attrition will completely erode the land and claim too many lives of people, who gave their faith in share power to the CPUs. Still, war raged on over time, and there are also a fifth group of people, ones who never pledge themselves to any CPU and instead lived away from the rest of civilisation.

Unfortunately, the groups that lived away from the nations eventually grew bigger than any one nation due to the constant war between the CPUs, and eventually these people formed the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime (ASIC). In spite of this though, the CPUs only found ASIC as a mere annoyance rather than a threat. Only on some occasions did the CPUs band together to get rid of the more troublesome activities of ASIC and cripple them, but they never truly went out of the way to completely destroy ASIC, as whenever ASIC was on the verge of destruction, one nation would always betray the trust of another, causing enough of a distraction for ASIC to live on. Yet, there was one nation that had constantly been considered the 'victor' of each skirmish, and it was Planeptune. Using their advanced technology and Histoire's stratagems, Planeptune's shares would inflate despite losses on certain occasions.

This has not gone unnoticed though, as Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox eventually saw the disparity in shares, they would be more than willing to team up to ensure survival as well the toppling over Planeptune. Meanwhile though, with the excess in shares, the CPU Uranus began to look for new options to help end the war as well as defeat ASIC. Finding a possible solution, Uranus and Histoire began a project that would soon revolutionise Gamindustri, as they gathered enough shares and condensed them into a single sharicite, they had done what nobody had done before: Gave rise to an entity known as a CPU Candidate."

The records and summary notes ended at that point, in which Uzume had mixed feelings. Even though she was happy that Histoire and Uranus had lead Planeptune into prosperity, it was also disheartening to hear that the CPUs of that era bicker and fight to the point of unable to set their differences aside to truly defeat a common enemy completely. Still, eager to find out what happened next, Uzume gathered and reached for the next series of tombs that would explain what happened after the creation of the first CPU Candidate. However, the next pieces of history that she read was quite different than what she had been expecting...

"Gamindustri. A peaceful land where the four nations of Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox stood tall and provided for the people. The CPUs lived in relative peace with each other as Purple Heart, Black Heart, White Heart, and Green Heart proudly represented their respective nations. Hey wait a second, did I grab the wrong volume?" Uzume questioned, seeing as how the history she was reading did not match where she left off. However, upon inspecting the library again, what she read was indeed the direct continuation of what she had read earlier, much to her surprise.

Uzume was clearly confused, about half-way through the reign of Uranus, it was as if history had stopped recording, and the current history she was reading was already telling of Purple Heart, who was clearly Neptune. Still, it was not even the beginning of Neptune's reign, it was probably years or some time after she became the CPU, as there was no longer any mention of Uranus or the previous fight with ASIC. By this time, Umio had entered the room to bring Uzume some tea, having heard of the first Planeptune's CPU settling down to catch up on recent history.

"Uzume? You look like you're troubled, is something the matter?" Umio asked.

"Umio! Ah, I was only going through with what happened after I was sealed away with Planeptune's history, but... it seems like there is a huge piece of history missing here for some reason," Uzume explained, showing the two volume of tombs from Histoire and the disparity of setting.

"Hmm, I see... that is rather strange. Histoire should have perfectly recorded everything, so there's no reason for this... perhaps we should try asking her about this?"

"Yeah, that's probably the best. It's like watching until the climax of your favourite anime and coming back next week just to see filler."

Still, Uzume was grateful for Umio's hospitality and enjoyed some tea along with pudding (from a little somebody of course) then went back to Histoire for a moment and explained the fragmented history.

"Hmm, this is..." Histoire trailed off, unsure of what to make of this whole thing.

"Do you not remember as well? That's all right, I mean, when you record so much, maybe you fell asleep at one point or got tired of it..." Uzume responded, thinking maybe even Histoire is not infallible.

"No, I am quite sure I should have... however, unlike forgetting about past events, I simply have no recollection of that time..."

"What, really?"

"Unfortunately, it would appear that way. Now that you mention it, I don't think I remembered how I met Neptune as well, even though I have always thought that I was involved with her affairs. For this case, I would have said we should ask Uranus directly."

"Wait, ask her directly? How?"

"My apologies, I had forgotten, but during our final battle against ASIC, we had ran out of options and so we consulted Uranus in an old castle for help."

"Is she still there right now? I'd like to talk to her myself."

"Unfortunately, after the Gamindustri rewrite, I have not been able to locate everything, especially the old castle... but wait, that tomb right there..." Histoire pointed out towards the back of tomb that had last recorded of Uranus' reign.

"Huh, this is...?" Uzume said, taking out a small object from the centre of the tomb, and holding it in her hand.

"I recognise this, it is... a Key Fragment, it might be for _that_ door."

"What door?"

"There's a door that I know of in the library, but I could never remember why it was there, but it it has dial with a shape that is similar to this Key Fragment," Histoire explained while she and Uzume went back to the library and they moved one of the book shelves away, revealing a door with four slots that matched the Key Fragment perfectly.

"Whoa, so there's something like this here... And even you don't know anything about it, Histoire?"

"Unfortunately no, but I should... along with the rest of what happened to Uranus' reign... perhaps the answers we seek lie beyond this door."

"All right! Leave this one to me, I've read enough for awhile now, maybe the libraries of the other nations will have the other Key Fragments, just like in the first game or somethin..."

"Oh my, you are starting to sound like Neptune now..."

"Hehe, sorry. I thought that maybe this is something that the CPU of Planeptune always did. Anyway, I'll be right back!" Uzume said, taking off in the direction of Leanbox. Uzume had began to leave, but almost crashed into Neptune, who had just returned to the basilicom.

"Whoa! Hello there Uzume! Haven't seen you around, how are you doing?" Neptune asked.

"Oh things are just great! Since big Nepsy had been back to her own dimension for a bit and I've been travelling, I decided to read up on what happened to Planeptune after I sealed myself away," Uzume responded.

"Ah... that's... great, so what did you find?"

"Hm? Well, I found out a little bit about Uranus and her reign, looks like she was successful just like you have been with Histoire, it's great!"

"I see..."

"Nepsy? You all right?"

"Huh? Oh yes, everything is fine. So what are you doing now?"

"I am heading out elsewhere, there seems to be something missing from what I was reading, so to avoid spoilers from reading a later chapter I am going to see if I can find the story from where I left off."

"That's good. Oh! I should report back to Histy before she scolds me again, I'll see you later!" Neptune finished, before rushing through to Histoire while Uzume was not at all surprised by Neptune's reaction, knowing that the current CPU must have done something embarrassing in her reign (and Uzume would bet credits that it involves pudding) that she does not want anybody to read about.

A short journey off to Leanbox and into the library was uneventful, it was quite a peaceful time after all. Uzume got to work quickly, searching through the history books and finding what she wanted. However, it was the same thing as in Planeptune: The records speak of Viridian Heart and the war with the nations and ASIC. The next book was about Vert and the peaceful demilitarisation of Leanbox and more pasture lands all around. Meanwhile, somebody had taken note of Uzume at the table and spoke up to her.

"Uzume! I didn't expect to see you here," said the voice.

"Huh? Oh, Gearsy! I didn't expect to see you here either!" Uzume responded, seeing both Nepgear and Vert walking around the library of all places.

"Oh my, looking through Leanbox's history are you?" Vert asked, noticing the historical books that Uzume had out.

"Ah yeah, wanted to find out what happened with history after I was sealed... but hey, there's something strange here..." Uzume trailed off as she explained what she had found in Planeptune and now finding the exact same thing with history being cut off at a certain point.

"I see... so ASIC was already active back then too..." Nepgear responded, first time hearing about that history of Gamindustri.

"Hm, that is strange indeed. I remember Chika did have a big book that contained more records in regards to Leanbox's history, let me go check..." Vert responded, while Uzume and Nepgear followed along. Surely enough, said book did contain the same Key Fragment that Uzume described but again, contents of Leanbox's history was missing. Still, having no real use for the Key Fragment, Vert handed it over to Uzume.

"Are you sure this is all right? This belongs to a book by somebody important to you," Uzume inquired.

"It shall be fine, I am rather curious as to why part of Leanbox's history is missing. Besides, my sister Nepgear and myself would like to know about that part of history now that you told us about all that."

"Vert... But I am not your sister, I am only over here to fulfill some quests!" Nepgear protested.

"Hahaha, you sure are popular Gearsy. Well, you guys are free to accompany me if you want, as long as it doesn't put yourself in trouble that is," Uzume said, getting ready to head for Lastation. Of course, with such an interesting case, Nepgear and Vert decided to join the party to search for the mysterious missing parts of history like some fun game... Though things seem to get rather strange when they arrived at Lastation.

The very exact same thing was in Lastation's records, the first battle with ASIC and Gamindustri from the perspective of Blue Heart, but cut off before it ended and next book was obviously about Lonely Heart Noire. Of course, this was made known to Noire and Uni as well, and soon the interest in Uzume's quest grew. Noire however, only joined because the records wrote her down as **Lonely Heart Noire** , to which she detests, and immediately found the oldest record book she had along with the Key Fragment. Everybody then headed to Lowee.

By now, everybody knew what to expect: Missing history, and old book having the Key Fragment, as was the pattern. Still, to have history erased from all records and even hidden from Histoire must mean somebody must have done it maliciously and trying to keep something hidden. Still, heading to the library, Blanc was already there as always, and to everybody's surprise though, Blanc was well aware of the missing history as well as the book with the Key Fragment. It would appear Blanc was already searching for the missing pieces in history as a side quest all this time. Upon hearing of the discovery of the other Key Fragments, Blanc also willingly gave her Key Fragment in hopes of uncovering the truth. At this point, Rom and Ram also wanted to tag along, to which Blanc tried to deny them, but it was no use since they were eavesdropping on earlier conversations about the history and first ASIC battle.

Finally, with all the Key Fragments in hand, a rather large party headed off to Planeptune just like anytime there was a crisis in Gamindustri, except this time there was no catastrophic event taking place, just some rather oddity that somehow drew everybody's interest. Heading back to the library, everybody crowded inside the library as Uzume placed all four Key Fragments in place, the Key Fragments lit up and the door disappeared. As everybody expectantly watched for something to happen, there was a sudden burst in light, engulfing the whole room. It was as if a sharing field has been activated, but unlike a sharing field, the location just seems to have changed, as the the environment around the party was now of a ruin, with broken pillars and rock walls around them. However, right where the door of the Key Fragment was is now a large creature of legs that resembled an ant and an upper body that was humanoid all in grayish brown.

It was a disgusting creature that was unworldly, not even Zero or Heart Dimension had such a thing, but Nepgear's N-Gear identified it as a Guard Vermin, to which Neptune would have probably made a joke about if she had been in the party. Still, with many CPU and CPU Candidates present, the Guard Vermin was no match for them all, even if it did put up great resistance. After the surprisingly long battle, the field dissolved and everybody returned to the library, and finally, Uzume reached out to the previously locked door and picked up a golden tomb with chains around it and binded in the centre with a lock.

"Damn, Four Key Fragments, a monster, and these chains all just to protect this _one_ book. Just what the hell happened during Uranus' reign anyway?" Uzume said, holding the prize at the end of this journey.

"Somebody's trying to hide something no doubt, but what could possibly be so bad that they put all these in place...?" Blanc questioned, seeing as the gravity of the situation had changed from mere curiosity into possibly something grim.

"Well, this looks like just an ordinary lock that we can pick, but after that surprise attack, I'd say we get some rest first..." Uzume suggested, as the party got out of the cramped space of the library and back into the conference room of the basilicom to have a short respite.

Histoire and Umio were filled in by Uzume during this time, and they were interested in the contents of the hidden tomb as well, especially with what transpired inside the library with the Guard Vermin. Histoire also noticed that the golden tomb was indeed one of her tombs, and that this type of book allowed people to experience the past as if they were right there in the scene. However, Histoire still had absolutely no recollection of sealing history away in this tomb or when she did it.

Since Nepgear was used to always using screwdrivers and other equipment, breaking the lock was left to her, which was easy enough to break the lock and tear away the chains. Finally, after everybody had gathered in the conference room again, they were ready to dive into the missing part of history that was meticulously sealed away.

"Wait a second, where's Neptune?" Nepgear asked, noticing that everybody in the party as in Planeptune as usual, but Neptune had been distinctly absent this time.

"I talked to her a little while ago, she seemed bothered by the whole thing of looking into this as well as saying its going to be boring and just ran off..." Uzume explained.

"Geez, she doesn't take anything seriously these days..." Noire commented.

"Still, I don't blame her, if I wasn't sealed away I probably wouldn't have much interest in something like this either. Anyway, let's see what was so mysteriously sealed up now!" Uzume declared, slowly opening the golden tomb carefully, being wary of any further traps that might be hidden.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A Nation Marred by Violence**

The golden tomb shone brightly, and what appeared to float over it was a familiar fairy figure sitting on a book. The one thing different here was that this was a mere projection, but it was still a curious sight and a little unexpected.

"Greetings. I am Histoire. To anybody looking into the contents of this tomb, you must have gotten through the many obstacles impeding you. I apologise for the trouble this may have caused, but the reason for all this is that I was asked to do so as the contents in this tomb involve the end of Uranus' reign as CPU in Planeptune as certain the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it. I myself have willingly sealed these memories as requested, so this is but a fare warning to be careful of this knowledge. Also, be aware that this being history, the personalities you see here _will_ be different than the ones you know in the future."

With that, the projection of Histoire disappeared, and there was silence in the room. It was confirmed that something did happen in the past to the point that even Histoire chose not to remember it. There was still a chance to back off from this whole thing according to the projection of Histoire's warning, but very soon Uzume could just feel the gaze and anticipation from everybody in the room. There was no question about it, everybody had come this far to get this tomb, nobody felt like backing out. Uzume looked towards Histoire, who had a serious look on her face and merely nodded at Uzume. There really was no turning back at this point, Uzume reached out towards the tomb and it activated upon contact, flashing a blinding light that brought everybody into history itself.

Down in the basement of Planeptune long time ago, a bright light emitted from the giant sharicite. Through Histoire and Uranus' development with shares and technology, they were able condense the share energy all into the single sharicite. As the sharicite overflowed with power, it slowly dissolved away and coming forth was a humanoid figure who landed softly on the floor, unaware of her surroundings or identity. Histoire and Uranus looked at each other and smiled, it would appear that they were successful in bringing forth a miracle: Birth of a CPU Candidate.

Uranus looked quite similar to Blanc in height and figure except with a whole lot more casual clothing and the lack of a hat. While at the same time, her short hair was rather unkempt, a rather telling sight about her personality as well. Still, Uranus stepped forward with a smile, introducing herself to the new born CPU Candidate of Planeptune. "Why hello there."

"Hello, who're you guys?" Asked the girl, still sitting and a little bit confused at the situation, as all she had was sackcloth around her and an equally disheveled lilac hair to match Uranus.

"Greetings CPU Candidate, I am Histoire, and this is Uranus, CPU of Planeptune. Through the immense faith of people, you have been born unto us, and from today onwards, we will guide you," Histoire explained.

"Oh I see... what's my name?" Asked the nameless girl, which caused a brief pause for both Histoire and Uranus, they had not expected this, but it was a legitimate question, what should the CPU Candidate be named?

"Hmm, since you were born from faith and people had faith in me, let's call you **Uranus Mk.2**!" Uranus declared, to which Histoire sighed and shut her down.

"Uranus, please take this seriously and give her a proper name."

"Oh fine... hmmm, this is hard... oh how about... _Neptune_! Yea, that sounds good!"

"Nep...tune?"

"Yeah, our nation is called Pla **neptune** , and since you're born from the faith of the people, it's a perfect name!"

"Uranus..."

"What is it Histie? It's a legitimate name..."

"Neptune... a little hard to pronounce... but I like it," responded the now-named Neptune, smiling.

Of course, Histoire was baffled that Uranus was so lazy with coming up with a name for the CPU Candidate, but that was really how Uranus was. Still, it mattered little since Neptune liked her name.

One year later...

The scene that unfolded in Planeptune was now similar to present day Planeptune, except that there was the archaic structural design and technology of the past. Uranus was sitting in her office desk in the basilicom filing out all her paperwork diligently and overlooking Planeptune as well as the current situation of Gamindustri.

"Hm, things are as they always were... Lastation and Lowee are really fighting it out for shares... Heh, ever since word got out that Planeptune got a CPU Candidate, those two have competed for shares in attempt to get their own Candidate. Leanbox, on the hand... has been suspiciously quiet..." Uranus noted.

Uranus knew that this sense peace was not going to last forever, seeing as how the four nations have barely worked together to truly flatten and completely destroy ASIC. In the past years it may have been a bit fine, but this time Uranus had heard reports of ASIC finally making big moves with the appearance of their boss, the Deity of Sin called Arfoire. None of this was new of course, Histoire had records of such a being, just that it had not been active as before.

In order to complete their end goal, ASIC had spies and other grunts sneak into each nation to spread counterfeit products as well as lies to recruit for ASIC, which was a concern. Thankfully, Planeptune was faring pretty well against ASIC's propaganda attacks thanks to the studious and hardworking CPU Candidate Neptune. Speaking of Neptune, the door to the room just opened up and entering was the CPU Candidate, dressed well in a hoodie jacket and neatly kept appearance, in stark contrast to Uranus.

"Oh right, before we go on with this story," Uranus interrupted, and began to explain things, "you see readers and watchers alike, one long year have passed, and while we'd love to show those times to you, it was rather boring from a story-telling perspective. It was mainly more bickering wars between Planeptune and the other nations as well as Histie and myself trying to raise little Neptune here, or as I like to call her, Neppermint. Since Neppermint was born to us, we gained quite the advantage in this war and lived comfortably in that past year. By the way, as you can all tell, Neppermint is deadly serious with just about everything, I keep telling her to chillax (a combination of chill out and relax), but somehow she doesn't really get it... Now, before you all assume that I am irresponsible as a CPU and let her do all the work, let me tell you that it is not true! I have for instance, tried very hard to get Neppermint here to eat her veggies, especially the _delicious_ eggplants, but she vehemently refuses to eat them and instead gorges on pudding."

"Uranus, what are you doing?" Neptune asked, seeing Uranus do nothing but narrate in the last quote.

"Oh you know, just overseeing the current situation of Gamindustri and improving Planeptune as always," Uranus lied, having done nothing much but sit as her desk and eat eggplants.

"Seriously Uranus, surely you have heard about the ASIC trying to gather supporters and faith to power their so-called Deity of Sin no?"

"Yes, I am well aware, but that's where you come in Neppermint, counter-propaganda for Planeptune! There's nothing I need to worry about with you around!"

"And why do you keep insist on calling me that when you named me Neptune in the first place?"

"It sounds cuter, plus Histie wouldn't approve of that anyway, so just chillax little one."

"That aside Uranus, I do have word that both Red Heart and Blue Heart were heading towards Planeptune, and it doesn't seem like they are here for a friendly talk."

"Oh, it's them again huh, well... I'll just beat them up for some exp and credits like usual," Uranus said, taking her sword and getting ready to meet the two invading CPUs.

"Why not just incapacitate them and take complete control of their nations? That way we can deal with ASIC."

"No, as much as we could do that, I am quite sure you are aware that we need their help in order to take down ASIC for good yes?"

"But for many years even before I was born had this fight for global supremacy been going on? What makes you think they will team up now?"

"There has to be a time where everybody realises that we're not going to win against ASIC. Besides, I have been around with them long enough to consider them as my buddies and that we'll somehow get along."

"That is what I don't understand Uranus, they are out to harm and even _kill_ you, and yet somehow you still consider them friends?"

"Because Neppermint, even if we are all rivals as CPUs, that doesn't mean we can't be friends, now be a good girl and look after Planeptune for me will ya?"

With that, Uranus left the basilicom and went out to meet the other two CPUs, leaving Neptune all alone inside, who still have not figured out how Uranus thinks. Still, even though their methods and personalities were almost opposites, Neptune remained devoted to both Planeptune and Uranus. Having enough work done for the day, Neptune retreated to her secret lab just beside the basilicom and opened pulled out a recipe book. In her free time, Neptune had developed a hobby of creating weapons of all kinds. More specifically, she often created broadswords or katanas for Uranus while she herself preferred Beam Swords.

Meanwhile, Uranus had transformed into her Magenta Heart form, her hair turning blonde colour along with twintails matching Histoire as well as her trademark Uranus processor set. Arriving at the outer area of Planeptune city, Magenta Heart saw the normally perfect intact Planeptune suffer fissures and vandalism on the floor and buildings. Getting ready for battle, she made eye contact with them and readied herself: Red Heart was to her left with her usual long blue hair tied in a ponytail along with a full body suit that mostly had red covering with the outer frame being white. Blue Heart to her right had a complete full cover of a body suit that was mainly black with outline of blue over the area where there were bones along with two white haired twintails.

"Just look at you Uranus, being lazy every single day because you have a CPU Candidate, we should've gotten rid of you sooner," Blue Heart said, brandishing her sword.

"You have no idea how hard we'd have to work just to keep our nations from falling apart, and here you are, enjoying royalty..." Red Heart trailed off, gripping her large axe with murderous intent.

"Well hey guys, I haven't been that lazy. Besides, much of our problems is because of those ASIC people, so if we work together we can solve this..." Uranus replied, trying to talk the two of them down.

"You would say that, but once it is all over, you'd just stomp all over us, wouldn't you? Don't think that shit will work on us..." Blue Heart retorted, already rushing forward with her over sized sword to attack, which Magenta Heart parried before dodging a swift axe strike from Red Heart.

Negotiations had obviously fallen through, and now it was a full out battle between the CPUs, and since Planeptune's shares were the highest, Magenta Heart held down against the barrage of attacks from both CPUs, much to their frustration. Of course, as both of the opposing CPUs finished their assault, Magenta Heart went straight to a fast counterattack, hoping to disarm them. However, as soon as she began her charge, she quickly defended when she spotted a wind spear from the corner of her sight had flown right towards her, sending her off to the side. From the fading of the wind, Magenta Heart saw a voluptuous woman dressed in skimpy green clothing with a spear approaching her, it was the sneaky Viridian Heart hiding in ambush. Before she could react though, both Blue and Red Heart already jumped to attack her from both sides, this being a trap all along.

The attacks from the 3 CPUs never connected though, because there was 3 compact bombs thrown right at them, and the explosion had blasted them to take enough damage to back off. Magenta Heart smiled as the form of Purple Heart (albeit half-completed processor units) appeared before her, giving her a hand to stand up.

"Thanks for the assist! I thought I was done for!"

"There's no time to celebrate, let us regroup at the basilicom for now," Purple Heart said, leading the way back to the basilicom. Not that Magenta Heart wanted to retreat, but it was probably the best idea at the time due to her injuries as well as knowing the prototype processors that Purple Heart was using tend to quickly drain her energy.

Once back at the basilicom, both CPUs changed out of their HDD, and Uranus was relieved to be back home, even though she had injuries that Neptune tended to her.

"Now do you understand that talking to them is useless? All 3 of them almost killed you back there," Neptune said, getting out the bandages and ointment for the wounds.

"Ah, they're just defensive because of ASIC's presence and decreasing shares," Uranus insisted as she endured the pain from the stinging medicine that Neptune applied to her.

Since every CPU had taken damage, nobody fought again for that day, and even if the other 3 CPUs were to try and invade Planeptune's basilicom, Neptune made sure to set proper traps that will severely cripple any invaders. After Uranus had gotten some paper work done, she gone off to rest while Neptune sat down by the conference room, still thinking that Uranus was crazy to consider the other 3 CPUs as friends. Histoire who had been busy managing the work in the basilicom noticed Neptune's silence and decided to speak.

"Neptune, what is the matter?"

"Oh you know, Uranus being Uranus again. I just don't get how she could possibly try and make friends with those 3 bitches that keep trying to kill her off. Why can't we just kill them instead, take all shares from Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox so that we can crush that nuisance known as ASIC?" Neptune ranted, at times like these was when she was most frustrated, there was almost no logic to how Uranus operated, always going for the route that involved the most nonsense and low chance of success.

"Neptune, I know it must be difficult, but Uranus does have a point, even if we had shares from everyone, the two of you alone could not possibly defeat the Deity of Sin."

"Then we should just beat the other CPUs into submission, then we'll work together and ASIC will be no more, why is that not simple enough for her to comprehend?"

"Violence does not solve everything, even if we were successful in taking down ASIC like that, peace would not truly return as the other CPUs will no doubt resent Uranus even more for taking control of everything and war will continue to last forever. Uranus of course, also wants to break the vicious cycle of war that claimed countless lives already, and this is the best opportunity to unite everybody together."

"I still don't understand why that is necessary, eventually our differences will come back right? Eventually we'll fight again and it'll just be the same as always, we really should get rid of those other CPUs when we can."

"There is still much for you to learn Neptune. While I think your pragmatic mindset is good, you do have to consider the feelings of others into this as well. Now, why don't you go rest as well? It has been a long day."

With that, Neptune also went off to get some sleep. Still, Neptune has not understood the whole thing with friendship and feelings. Were those things _really_ necessary? This was a war they are fighting, and when ASIC is gathering power for their Deity of Sin, the CPUs are needlessly wasting their strength fighting each other, almost guaranteed to seal their own demise this way. Whatever the case, Neptune knew that she did not like those other CPUs, Uranus has shown them kindness, and the only thing they returned was scorn and hatred.

The following week, Planeptune and Lowee clashed in a fight again, and thanks to ASIC's sabotage efforts, Planeptune's defences were breeched easily and Lowee had simply marched in and began to destroy everything on a warpath. However, Uranus was able to stop the advance before they reached the basilicom and got Red Heart to calm down, as ASIC had simply spread a false rumour of Planeptune defaming Lowee to incite the attack. Neptune of course, was not pleased that Uranus had let Lowee go so easily, people died in the attack, and how could Uranus even keep smiling through the loss?

The trouble did not end there though, both Lastation and Leanbox had sneaked around the boarder in the following month, and both Uranus and Neptune each had to defend one side of Planeptune to prevent being overrun. They were successful in their attempt to defend Planeptune, but in the process, Neptune had also taken the few lives of conscripted people from the other nations due to this war. What's worse was that because of Planeptune being under siege, she also saw some of her own citizens starve to death and she was powerless to do anything.

Neptune sat still in the basilicom one morning, and only slammed her fist on the table in frustration. She had never felt so powerless before, no matter what she tried to do, Planeptune always seemed to incur losses, whether it was human lives, economical, or political scale. The previous day she had also been out in the streets to help clean up debris as well as carry the dead to their graves. Frustrated as ever, Neptune let out a sigh, this simply cannot continue, she had to do something, but what to do was the main question.

"Neptune..." Histoire said, looking over at the frustrated CPU Candidate, who had been stressed out now that the constant state of war had worn down Planeptune's shares as well as signs of people losing faith.

"Histoire, isn't there anything that we can do? Uranus' ways of doing things are just _not_ working. ASIC has taken control of several cities across Gamindustri now and pretty soon, all four nations will crumble, yet Uranus had achieved nothing with trying to make friends with people who try to murder us!" Neptune complained.

"We mustn't lose hope Neptune. Even though things don't appear as they are improving, there has been some good. Since the attack from Lowee being solved, we have had less problems with them. Uranus may not look like it, but she is doing her best right now, and we should try and support her however we can. Things can be better, but they are not as grim as they may seem Neptune. Here, since you have been working so hard, relax a little bit and read a book..." Histoire responded, handing Neptune an old tomb.

"Well, all right... say, is there any snacks around? I am feeling hungry, how about some pudding?"

"I do not think it would be good to have pudding all the time because of the sugar content Neptune. However, we do have an ample supply of cooked eggplants..."

"Ok, no... forget it, eggplants are _disgusting_. I don't know how Uranus can just eat them like that..."

Just outside the basilicom though, was Arfoire hiding in the shadows, having heard of the previous conversation between Histoire and Neptune. "So that's Neptune, the CPU Candidate... well, she looks like she has potential with her hobby, perhaps it is time..." With that, Arfoire secretly left the scene and began to put a plan into motion.

Since there was not much to do with ASIC not mobilising just yet and the four nations having resting from recent fights, Neptune took Histoire's advice to get some rest and do some reading, as she was the studious type compared to Uranus, who liked to snack on eggplants and play games when not working. Neptune read through one of Histoire's history books to take her mind off the war and death around her. The words of Histoire stuck with Neptune though, seeing as how Uranus needs all the help she can get, Neptune slowly drifted off to sleep as she wondered how she can be of help to Uranus in this situation. It was then that Neptune figured it out, the Deity of Sin had been rumoured to be around for some time, so of course there might be a weakness that she could find.

The next few days, Neptune borrowed as many books from Histoire as she could, gaining knowledge of who the Deity of Sin is, as well as the possible weapon developments to assist in defeating the abomination. Uranus saw no problem with this development in Neptune, as she was not oblivious to Neptune's frustration but had little idea on how to console the poor CPU Candidate. A few more days has passed since then, and Neptune found more and more knowledge from her backlog of books, some even Histoire had long forgotten about.

Then the day came, where the Deity of Sin began to move against Gamindustri from underground with ASIC. Knowing that the threat was too great to ignore, Uranus was able to successfully recruit the other 3 CPUs together to fight against the threat. Of course, everybody had met in Planeptune because Lastation had too much smog, Lowee felt too cold, and Leanbox... everything was just too big. Before the CPUs departed though, Uranus met with Neptune again.

"Well, I am going to be off Neppermint," Uranus said, smiling as she got everything ready.

"Uranus, just be careful of those 3 all right? And here, I made this for you..." Neptune replied, bringing forth a long wooden box and opening it, revealing her latest creation for Uranus: The Bastard Sword.

"Oh hey, this is pretty cool! Thanks Neppermint, it looks like I'll definitely be able to win with this!"

"You sure you don't want me to come along with you? I could help, especially if the backstabbing bitches try something funny..."

"It'll be fine Neppermint! Besides, I need you and Histie to watch over Planeptune in case if ASIC tries something shady. Now, I'll be back before you know it!" Uranus said, walking off on the path out of Planeptune.

Neptune waved to Uranus as she departed. Alongside her was Blue Heart, a tall woman with long black hair and a princess dress, then there was Red Heart, a short woman who had an autumn leaf hat and robe along with slightly longer red hair only down to her shoulders, and of course, there was Viridian Heart that had short hair but the same voluptuous form as her HDD.

Seeing the 4 CPUs walk off together made Neptune think that perhaps there was lots for her to learn, and that perhaps it was possible to make friends with the other CPUs. After all, Uranus had been holding back for quite awhile when the CPUs attacked, and perhaps this was the result that was desired. As the CPUs walked off in the distance, Neptune prayed that they would return safely and hear the report of the Deity of Sin being defeated and ASIC dissolved.

One day has passed since then, and Neptune continued to wait.

Another day had passed, and by now, the battle should surely be over, even if the Deity of Sin had a 3rd and final form.

On the third day, Planeptune's boarder guards found Uranus struggling to walk with multiple injuries. Immediately they brought Uranus to get medical care, and while Uranus did not have any wounds too serious and recovered relatively quickly, what she had explained afterwards was perhaps the most upsetting thing Neptune could ever hear:

"Well it was a great big success, we managed to beat up the Deity of Sin in this witch-like form, and then she transformed into this giant bug-like disgusting creature, so we beat her too, and before you know it, she had this 3rd and final form where her face was like a rabbit of all things! Anyway, we beat her up too no problem, of course were about to finish her off, but it required a concentrated attack with all our power, and we disagreed on who should do it, and so we kinda had a little disagreement going on," Uranus explained.

"You guys did _what_?" Neptune questioned, having been quite pleased until she heard that last part.

"Um yeah, so I almost won, but then the three of the all went against me, so I got pushed back pretty hard, and then... Arfoire rose again and blasted us all away, oopes..."

Neptune only stayed silent after hearing the last bit, this was beyond ridiculous now. The CPUs had to fight over who gets the final shot to defeat Arfoire, when they could have just agreed to strike Arfoire together, but no, these CPUs all had big egos! Worst yet, Uranus got severely injured thanks to those CPUs, and now Neptune could think of nothing but hatred for those other CPUs, this was just it, there was only so much that she could take. While Uranus laughed it off, saying that Arfoire was weakened enough and saying that the next battle will surely be the true final boss battle, Neptune was not satisfied. No, for all that talk about CPUs coming together to defeat Afoire but still failing due to more infighting, Neptune had enough of it.

"Hey Neppermint!" Uranus called, but Neptune hardly responded.

"That's enough... let's just end this already Uranus..." Neptune breathed, barely containing her anger.

Leaving Uranus, Neptune came back to her weapon lab, and reaching out for one of the books she borrowed from Histoire. There was no question about it, this was something she wanted to do for awhile now, but she had at least respected Uranus' wish to see if relations with the other CPUs would improve. Unfortunately, from what Neptune understood, friendship between CPUs was just a myth. Reading from the book, Neptune wrote a list of materials to gather up, this time she was really determined to help Uranus to absolute victory.

"Yes, I have to do this... otherwise too many people will die," Neptune muttered as she got ready for her synthesis.

True enough to what Uranus said, ASIC had not moved for awhile since Arfoire took heavy damage, but so did the four CPUs, and so everybody rested for the following few days with very little conflicts with ASIC.

Taking advantage of this fact, Neptune sneaked out into the night for the next few days and secretly hunted for the materials to bring back to her lab. Surprisingly, she was able to easily find what she had needed with very little trouble. When a week had passed, Uranus was finally ready to fight again, but she had noticed that Neptune was absent most of the time and asked Histoire where the CPU Candidate went.

"Histie, where did my Neppermint go? She stopped visiting after one of my days of recovery, is she all right?" Uranus asked.

"I had been busy while you were recovering, but I had only seen her a few times during the week, but it looks like she was going to her lab a lot," Histoire explained.

"Well, I guess she must have some sort of weapon in mind, so maybe she made something to defeat Arfoire?"

"I would hope so, she did seem rather frustrated though. Just when I thought she had understood you and the relationship with the other CPUs, that disagreement had to happen, so I am a little worried about her as well..." Histoire trailed off, before the two of them heard an explosion from the lower level of the basilicom as they felt the blast.

Immediately the two of them rushed down to ground floor, but it would appear that it was not an attack to their basilicom from ASIC or the other nations. As a matter of fact, not even the basilicom was damaged, but the explosion blast was actually from Neptune's weapon lab.

"Oh no..." Uranus breathed, getting a bad feeling from whatever Neptune just did.

Each step seemed to take forever as Uranus and Histoire approached Neptune's weapon lab, where she had always made her swords. Neptune always had carefully followed recipes and safety procedures, so an explosion when crafting something was very unusual. Yet, as Histoire and Uranus opened the door and stepped inside, apprehension seemed to materialise and envelop them, something was not quite right here.

"Neppermint! Are you all right?" Uranus called, and before long saw the CPU Candidate standing at the far end of the room, unharmed. Relief washed over Uranus as the CPU Candidate was standing still and well, but the feeling of dread grew as Neptune slowly turned around and spoke.

"Ah Uranus... good timing. I finished making you a present..." Neptune breathed out, smiling as she held her forged weapon in her hand.

"Neptune...! What have you done?" Histoire said, noticing something serious off and unusual about the Neptune here. Meanwhile, Uranus could only stare as fear started to grip her very being, this was unlike anything she ever felt before.

"In order to cease this pointless war between us and the other nations, and ASIC... I did what I had to do..."

"No..." Histoire breathed, as she remembered Neptune had been reading all sorts of books, but surely Neptune would not have read about _that_.

"Yes Histoire, thanks to this one book I have sealed victory for Planeptune forever and ever. Now, take this sword Uranus, I have worked many days to perfect it, this sword sears the soul and pierces through flesh, not even Arfoire can stand up to it. Behold! My greatest creation-Gehaburn!" Neptune declared, holding out a grimly lit dark purple sword.

Time seemed to freeze in Neptune's lab, Uranus and Histoire could only stare as Neptune uncharacteristically grinned with a ghastly smile as she held out the sword, which reflected as much malice as Neptune had. Uranus was at a loss for words, she had always assured Neptune that everything would be all right, but clearly her assurances did not reach Neptune as evident by the creation of the sword as well as the deranged look. Uranus had no choice but to step forward and reluctantly take upon the sword, even with how carefree Uranus had been, she was not quite expecting something like this.

Thankfully though, Neptune had overworked herself throughout the week without sleeping and fell unconscious shortly afterwards, to which Uranus and Histoire let her rest while they began to plan their next move. The situation was more dire than anything, and even Uranus' confidence had been shaken, Neptune's overzealous devotion to Planeptune and Uranus had quite the unexpected result.

"Wow... I can feel the hatred flowing from this sword... just what is it?" Uranus asked Histoire.

"It is a cursed sword. It has the power to not only drain shares from striking a CPU, but also prevent share usage, which would cause the soul to implode," Histoire explained, regretting that she let Neptune read whatever she wished.

"Gee, that's... fearsome. How did or who made the plans for it?"

"This is merely a conjecture, but the previous CPU of Planeptune had faced some hardships in her time, and there were occasional times where she just wanted to destroy everything and she had often wished for a weapon capable of such destruction. The writing and diction used in the recipe Neptune had seems to match it from her time."

"I see... Well, maybe it is my fault that it has come to this. I know Neppermint was always dedicated to help me and all that... but to hear our fight with ASIC derailed so many times must have tested her patience."

"What are you planning to do now Uranus?"

"Well, depending on how things go with the other CPUs, if this sword is really as powerful as we think it is, I guess... I'll just have to defeat Arfoire by myself if I have to, and then afterwards destroy this sword itself too... we both know it is way too dangerous to keep around."

Meanwhile though, just outside the basilicom was Arfoire, listening in again closely on the conversation that the two were having, and smiling as she figured out immediately what to do. "Excellent, that Neptune really has her uses..."

While Neptune rested during the few days of silence, Uranus and Histoire continued to monitor the CPU Candidate as well the general political landscape of Gamindustri. Just when things seemed fine and quiet, Arfoire and ASIC had spread rumours to the other 3 nations that Planeptune developed a secret weapon to assassinate the other 3 CPUs. When word got around, Histoire and Uranus tried to conceal the sword, but with ASIC grunts leading spies from the other nations straight to the sight of the sword, the evidence was undeniable.

From there on, the other 3 nations united against Planeptune and pressed hard on Planeptune. When Planeptune could no longer hold their outer perimeter, Uranus had to personally step out to meet with the other CPUs, hoping to talk them down since it was ASIC that spread the false information.

"All right, I am going to do this. Otherwise Planeptune won't last..." Uranus breathed, her heart heavy from the mess that is Planeptune now, with shares even dropping lower as even their own citizens were a bit shaken by the rumours of the intended violence of deicide.

"Are you going to be all right?" Histoire asked as she floated into the office.

"Yeah, I have to do this. But, can I ask one thing from you Histie?"

"Yes?"

"If anything happens to me, please take care of Neppermint for me. I know she's still young and inexperienced as a CPU Candidate, but I don't blame her for the way she thinks since I haven't brought the best results as a CPU," Uranus said, while leaving the room and outside the basilicom towards the front lines.

No sooner had Uranus left the basilicom though, Histoire had a premonition of something that was going to happen. However, instead of staying put to watch over the sword, she heads off to where Neptune was resting. Seeing the CPU Candidate still resting and in good condition, Histoire was relieved, but only for a moment before a single burst of pain had spread from the back of her head along with a bright light. Everything seemed to happen in an instant, and when Histoire could really process what was going on, she started to feel faint and fall down. Before Histoire lost consciousness though, she turned around and saw the figure of Arfoire there, dread overcame Histoire as she knew what was going on, but was powerless to do anything.

Just as Uranus entered the battlefield, the other 3 CPUs immediately went against her head on. Try as she may, her words fell on deaf ears, as the other CPUs were indignant having also thought that the earlier union was just a distraction so Neptune could create the cursed sword unhindered. Being severely outnumbered, Magenta Heart held her own against the other 3 CPUs, but it was a futile effort as she was slowly worn down.

"Ow, they won't listen to me... I need some help..." Uranus said, knowing that she could retreat, but she was literally the only line of defence for her nation still standing and defeat here would most likely mean annihilation of her nation, her people, and by extension, herself.

"Hehe, you're holding up so admirably, _I_ will lend you a hand this time..." said a voice from the side that the CPUs vaguely recognised.

Before anybody could react, Viridian Heart felt a searing burning sensation strike her shoulder blade and fell forwards screeching in pain, though it was not a fatal wound, she fell on the floor motionless and her HDD form disengaged.

"What..." Uranus breathed before realising that Arfoire had struck the Leanbox CPU from behind, but what's even more frightening was that Arfoire had taken the Gehaburn for herself and smiling sadistically over the CPUs.

"Damn it, Arfoire!" Red Heart shouted.

"Ah hahahahaha! You lot are way more stupid than I expected. One small rumour and you all accuse and suspect one another, and to think that I was almost defeated the 4 of you... now I wonder much despair you will face when I tear you guys apart."

"Well you guys, I hope we can just set aside our differences for just this battle, and... don't let the sword hit you..." Uranus warned the other two, while dragging the fallen Leanbox CPU aside.

"You don't need to tell us that, I hate to say it, but we should work together," said Blue Heart, ready to strike at a moments notice along with Magenta and Red Heart also ready.

Meanwhile, Histoire had woken up after being taken out by Arfoire earlier, and the first thing she saw was the worried face of Neptune beside her.

"Histoire! Is everything all right?" Neptune asked, seemingly all well from her last appearance of insanity.

"Neptune...? Oh, I seem to have... wait, now is not the time to be worrying!" Histoire responded, remembering what happened before she passed out. Very quickly Histoire got up and flew towards another room while Neptune followed behind.

"Wait, what's going on?"

"We have quite a situation going on right now, and.. it is just as I thought," Histoire concluded as she entered the other room that Uranus and herself was conversing with earlier, with clean signs of vandalism as the seal and case for storing away Neptune's sword had been broken. Without pause, Histoire then explained everything that has happened while Neptune was resting in the last few days as well as the scene with Arfoire earlier.

"Ah... well shit, I really did it now huh... I guess I wasn't thinking..." Neptune admitted, regretting her moment of insanity that lead to the creation of a feared weapon.

"Apologise later Neptune, the situation is dire out there, Uranus needs your help!"

"Right, I'll get there right now!" Neptune said as she changed into Purple Heart and flew out to where the battle was.

Upon landing on the battle grounds, Neptune turned off her HDD to conserve energy and saw a rather unsettling sight: Viridian, Red, and Blue Heart all had their HDD disengaged and lying on the floor in very unnatural positions as well as hardly breathing. Neptune would have said they deserved it, but seeing the suffering on their faces and the visible burn marks on them made Neptune realise just how horrific it all was, and worst yet there was no mistake here: the wounds were all caused by the sword she created. Next, Neptune saw an even greater nightmare before her: Uranus slumped down on the floor in a fetal position.

"(No, nonono, this was not supposed to happen!)" Neptune thought as she had thoughts racing through her mind and rushing to Uranus' side. "Hey! Uranus!"

"Hey Neppermint... How are you?" Uranus smiled weakly.

"Forget that, what happened to you!?" Neptune asked, fearful of the answer she already knew.

"Sorry, Arfoire got us... you heard from Histie right? She stole that sword..." Uranus breathed out weakly.

"Damn it... I'm sorry Uranus, I wasn't thinking when I made that thing..."

"No, I am sorry Neppermint, I should have considered what you said before, I am sorry I always let things get out of hand..."

Of course, without even warning, Arfoire appeared again right beside Neptune and Uranus as they saw the Deity of Sin in her witch form again.

"Ah hahahahaha! I must thank you Neptune, your own blind devotion to your nation led to create such a wonderful instrument of death. Especially since you were the only one talented enough to create such a weapon. It was great seeing the suffering of the CPUs as they were helpless against me," Arfoire taunted, still brandishing the sword and even pointing it at Neptune.

"Damn you!" Neptune spat, deeply regretting her own actions now.

"Don't blame me, you're the one who foolishly created this sword, and you didn't even stop and think about why you were able to find everything you needed for it so easily."

"Wait, so that means..."

"Yes, I left everything you needed to create it with a few of my pets... To think, nobody has ever been talented enough to create this sword until you came along... Well, all this destruction and death you see around you, and even Uranus' very life fading, is all because of _you_!"

"Oh, shut up!" Shouted Uranus' voice as she steadily got up and swung her sword at Arfoire, causing a quick retreat.

"Uranus!"

"Don't listen to what she's saying, Neppermint! I know you just wanted us to win, but right now, help me take down this Arfork." Uranus responded, giving Neptune a reassuring smile.

"Arfork? That's it, you've mocked me long enough. I will kill both of you here!" Arfoire declared as she readied herself.

Neptune transformed again and readied herself for a battle against the infamous Deity of Sin. It was just as Uranus had said, now is the time to focus on the fight with Arfoire in order to save Gamindustri.

"Are you going to be fine with that form Neppermint? It drains your SP every turn you know," Uranus joked, trying to relax Neptune a little bit.

"Even now you're still being meta. Still, I think I am beginning understand why you're like this... but to answer your question, I'll be fine, let's do this!" Neptune responded.

Uranus had been unable to transform because of low shares as well as already being struck once by the sword, but she was able to evade having her vitals struck to survive. Still, Arfoire charged forward with her assault relentlessly, but because she depended on the sword's ability to kill CPUs, Arfoire only used strikes to go in for the kill. Seeing the weakness in that form of attack, Uranus was able to successfully repel all of Arfoire's attacks. Likewise, Neptune did the same, even though she fumbled quite a bit from being overwhelmed by Arfoire and her inexperience.

"Tch, you refuse to die even now..." Arfoire said, seeing Uranus's resolve to live.

"Of course, don't underestimate Planeptune's CPU or Neppermint here!" Uranus boasted, having great pride in the CPU Candidate. Charging forward, Uranus delivered a counter offensive, stalling Arfoire. Meanwhile, Neptune saw the open opportunity and flew straight in to deliver the finishing blow. Except that part way through the flight, she automatically reverted from her HDD and collapsed on the ground from overexertion.

"Hah! You guys fell for it again!" Arfoire taunted, having stalled the battle with predictable attacks just to wear out Neptune. Kicking Uranus away, she flew towards Neptune, ready to strike, "Now, die by your own creation!"

"(No, I cannot let that happen!)" Uranus thought as she got up as fast as she could from the last impact and raced towards Neptune, who was just barely recovering as Arfoire neared her.

Neptune tried to defend herself, but was not sure if she could by how fast Arfoire was coming at her. Before Arfoire could come in contact with her though, Uranus suddenly stood between herself and Arfoire, but was unable to defend and instead traded attacks with Arfoire. The exchange repelled Arfoire, but unfortunately the cursed sword had directly struck through Uranus.

"Uranus! What are you doing!?" Neptune screamed, as Uranus' fell backwards into her arms.

"I'm sorry Nep... tune, this is as far as I'll go... it looks like I couldn't achieve my goal of getting all the CPUs together and defeating Arfoire... but please... promise me that at least you'll continue to make Planeptune prosper... I believe in you, so remember to chillax..." Uranus said as she breathed her as she slowly dissolved.

"No... Uranus, please... don't go!" Neptune screamed as tears clouded her vision and the rage and sadness flooded her heart as she forcefully activated HDD again, but this time her processors looked distinctly different. Where as her processors from before had a prototypical design and lacking joints and armaments, Purple Heart's body suit had fully covered most of her upper body as well as her equipment all having plating and her wings taking solid form with purple outline.

"What is that form?" Arfoire said, shocked to see a sudden transformation.

Neptune of course, wasted no time in getting used to her new form, but rather she picked up her own created sword from where Uranus used to be and held it above herself. With a purple glow coming from the sword that reflected her own raging heart, Purple Heart charged forward to finish the battle. "Feel the might of my new form and technique, **Neptune Break**!" she vengefully said as unleashed a series of connected strikes from within all directions on Arfoire and finally topping off with a powerful strike forward.

"Not bad... it looks like I have underestimated you..." Arfoire smirked as she took the attack from Neptune but still was capable of recovering.

However, before Arfoire could rise again, she felt something hold her down, and looking around her, she saw 3 threads of power bind her in place from a triangular pattern. Neptune looked and saw the 3 previous fallen CPUs had mustered the last of their strength to seal away the Deity of Sin.

"You guys..."

"Curse you CPUs!" Arfoire yelled as she realised what was happening to her.

"Hehe, we're already done for... and this wouldn't have happened if we resolved things peacefully with Uranus. Still, since she has fallen like this, we cannot possibly forgive Arfoire now. Besides, this will buy all of you guys some time..." the wounded Viridian Heart spoke, having the other 2 CPUs also agree. Within the next moments, a huge flash of light erupted, and the 3 CPUs along with Arfoire had disappeared. Standing in the middle of it all was Neptune, trying to take in the surreal scene, as hours ago it was another fight with ASIC and the four nations, and now... she was the lone survivor in this desolate piece of land just outside Planeptune.

Neptune returned to the basilicom and there Histoire greeted her. Immediately, Neptune fell on her knees and began to cry. There was no words needed to be said, Histoire knew exactly what had transpired at that point. Histoire could only comfort the CPU Candidate as Neptune felt the pain of loss.

One week later, Histoire had continued on to handle the work at the basilicom, and after her work was done, she would visit Neptune in her room, hoping to get a response from the CPU Candidate.

"Neptune... Will you speak today?" Histoire asked.

"Hey Histoire..."

"Yes?"

"Am I worthy to be considered a CPU?"

"I would say so myself, you've done an outstanding job on stopping the war and defending Planeptune to save countless lives."

" _Why_ then... _Why_ couldn't I save Uranus? _Why_ did she have to die? _Why_... Answer meeeeee!" Neptune cried, still in denial about the whole ordeal.

Histoire could find no words to say, she only held Neptune up close, as the CPU Candidate continued to cry endlessly. Of course, Neptune knew the answer to her own questions. Uranus had believed in her despite her serious demeanour all the time, and even though Neptune made a mistake, it did not change the fact that Uranus loved her as a CPU Candidate and handed Planeptune and the future into her hands, knowing that Neptune was capable of leading the nation as the new CPU to greatness.

After another week had passed by, Neptune began to actually walk about in the basilicom again, slowly but surely having accepted what had happened. ASIC quickly went into hiding, while Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox stayed put without going to war with Planeptune after having their CPUs disappear. For once, there was peace in the land, even though the cost was great.

"Guess I really am responsible for all of this, the other 3 nations will crumble soon without their CPUs..." Neptune muttered as she now sat where Uranus used to sit in the conference room, not really enjoying the paper work and wondering how Uranus handled things so well.

"That is not true Neptune..." Histoire commented, having overheard Neptune's last comment.

"Histoire... what do you mean?"

"I never told you since you were trying to cope for the last two weeks, but during the time when we were at war, Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox had gathered enough shares that there was already one CPU Candidate for each nation born. Everybody in Gamindustri has accepted the common fact that the 4 CPUs defeated Arfoire at the cost of their lives."

"Well, that's good I guess..." Neptune trailed off, having now just recalled the word of the late Leanbox CPU, 'to buy _all you guys_ some time...' Still, it was hardly anything worthwhile to be happy about, and so Neptune presented a request to Histoire, "Can you do me a favour?"

"What is it Neptune?"

"I am sure Uranus would have wanted me to make friends with those CPU Candidates right?"

"That would probably be what she wants, yes."

"Well, I have been thinking... maybe Uranus had been right all along, that I had been taking everything too seriously and... it didn't end so well for me, so... is it possible to seal off the memories from the end of Uranus' reign as well as the beginning of my time as a CPU?"

"What?"

"I know it's not easy to ask, but... I need some time to think about everything I've done... And to bury away the sword. Besides, I don't want anybody to just read this history and see nothing but war and death along with the bogus claim that the 4 CPUs sacrificed themselves to save Gamindustri... because you know that's not true, it was partially my fault that all this happened... Besides, we also have to make sure to burn the recipe book so that nobody can ever attempt to make a weapon like this."

"You are not going to destroy the sword?"

"I think you may have noticed it too, but in addition to draining shares, it also traps the soul of CPUs it slays... I... still cannot bring myself to do this... not yet anyway. Mark my words, if I ever get a CPU Candidate myself in the future, I will for sure make it so that it will be a _much_ happier time for her!"

With one big sigh, Histoire, consented to Neptune's request, it was not easy to do, and it would require a great deal of time and share energy, but nevertheless Histoire began the process to seal away this part of history.

As the scene in history faded to darkness, the projection of Histoire appeared again, and spoke her last words.

"Now for those of you who have seen this, you now bear the witness to the truth and the burden of the past that occurred during the latter half of Uranus' reign as a CPU as well as the rise of Planeptune's CPU Candidate. I complied with Neptune's request to seal this knowledge so that nobody will ever be able to create the cursed sword or anything similar. Still, the damage has been done, as Neptune gave up her hobby of making specialised weapons and never used a Beam Sword ever again."

The words of Histoire ended and the tomb's recorded history finished as the environment returned to the present day Planeptune's basilicom.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Hope**

"Oh shit..." Uzume muttered, having collapsed onto the floor after the information overload from the history presented to her all at once.

The rest of the room also stayed silent, like watching to the end of a movie with a shocking revelation, nobody could find words to speak. Nobody had expected to see what they saw. After all, this was _Neptune_ , one how never seemed to have a care in the world... except she that did, and perhaps what everybody saw in the current day Neptune was just her way of coping with the past. However, now was not quite the time to think about the past, because now it was obvious why Neptune had simply ran off before everybody took a look into the golden history book. It did not take long before everybody poured out of the basilicom to look for the CPU, no doubt Neptune had been scared with everybody knowing the truth.

Uzume took a quick respite first though, and stood alone in the observatory looking out into the night sky over Planeptune. What started out as a curious look into history after her time quickly became a chilling reality that Planeptune really had not changed much since her time. In fact, even Neptune was really not all that different from herself. Purple Heart was in fact the original personality that Neptune had but her human form had a personality change from Uranus' legacy, just as her Orange Heart form was Uzume's original personality.

"Nepsy..." Uzume muttered out, while looking out from Planeptune's tower, it had become obvious why Neptune seemed so reserved when the name Uranus was brought up, as well as the running away when Uzume mentioned they found the missing piece of history. No doubt that Neptune fled out of fear, and for good reason too.

"Uzume..." Nepgear said, appearing from behind after seeing Uzume stare out into the space for quite some time.

"Oh, Gearsy you're still here?"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it myself after seeing all that, but... where could have Neptune run off to?"

"No doubt that she's scared out of her mind and ran off to somewhere far away..."

"Shouldn't we go find her?"

"Yeah, I plan to do that. I mean, it was rather surprising and all that, but I understand why she wouldn't want people to know, it was the same thing for me too. Say, I heard from Histoire that you guys had spoken to Uranus once, so was she just the same back then?"

"Well... during that time, Uranus sounded calm and maybe even a little foreboding when she told us about how to truly defeat the Deity of Sin, so seeing her just like Neptune was rather surprising."

"Yes, now that I have regained those memories, I would say it is very surprising," said another voice entering the balcony.

"Histoire! Are you feeling all right after all that? You seemed like you were out of it too." Uzume asked, unsure of how Histoire took it all in.

"I am fine, yes. Though it did surprise me that Neptune was once like that..."

"Well, you've really stuck with us despite all that's happened in Planeptune throughout the years, so thank you."

"Are you going to go after Neptune now?"

"Yes, I am pretty sure many of us won't blame her for this, but I need to make sure _she_ understands it," Uzume explained while transforming and getting ready to fly off into the skies, having already picked up on Neptune's location by the share energy concentration.

"Wait, Uzume! I will come too-" Nepgear said, but Uzume denied her.

"No. Leave this one to me Gearsy. I know you're eager to talk to her as well, but I think she's probably most afraid of _you_ right now. Especially since you look up to her so much and then finding out that she's been hiding all of this... but don't worry, I promise I'll bring her back!"

It turns out that from the time everybody viewed the events in the tomb felt longer when at most an hour had passed by, so Neptune did not go very far from Planeptune. In fact, with Orange Heart's speed, she caught up to Neptune by the mountain area just west of where AffimaX's base used to be. Landing on the ground and seeing Neptune staring out into the sky, Orange Heart disengaged her HDD and made sure to put away her megaphone.

"Nepsy!" Uzume called, as she stepped forward to the location where Neptune was.

"Oh, it's you Uzume..." Neptune responded, not bothering to look back.

"Hey, is everything all right?"

"All right? Well, that really depends... I am guessing you and everybody saw everything with your own eyes?"

"Yeah... that we did."

"So then let me ask you this: Am I worthy of being a CPU, do I deserve to live?"

"That should be obvious, of course you do!"

"That's reassuring... but even after I hid everything from Nep Jr. all this time, and even after all the deaths I have caused, is it really _right_ to continue like this?"

"Nepsy... a lot of time has passed, but you would have realised that nobody is perfect. Especially since you've been involved with the previous incident with the other 'me' as well."

"I know, but still... even after all this time, I just can't help but think... if somebody else found my sword and took me down, wouldn't it be poetic justice?"

"Seriously? You're not still feeling guilty over that are you? And where in the world did you hide your sword anyway?"

"I've gotten better with time, but just that sometimes I still have regrets... And you know, I really don't know where the sword is anymore. I hide it in that old castle place where everybody once spoke to Uranus, but... if you're wondering about it, that sword probably lost most of its power and is rusty now. I only left it there because it was the only thing that still binds Uranus to this world. However, I have no idea what happened now that things kinda got mucked by that rewrite thingy..."

"Now I really wished that I had the chance to talk to Uranus myself. Anyway, you know why I am here for you right?"

"And that would be...?"

"To bring you back, I promise it's not going to be an execution or anything."

"Might be simple for you to say, but even so... it's hard."

"And that's just not like you... or maybe that is. Still, all that time you've been as CPU of Planeptune, all the time you've spent with others, Gearsy, and even myself, those memories aren't a lie right?"

"Nope... they were legitimate..."

"Com'on Nepsy, I may have not have been able to do anything with what happened during Uranus' time, but since I am here now, I will help you at least," Uzume said, reaching out her hand to Neptune.

Slowly, Neptune turned around, Uzume could notice the tear stains on her face, still facing uncertainty and questions about her own existence at times. Still, Neptune slowly took the outreached hand of Uzume and gripped it. At that moment, Uzume pulled Neptune closer and embraced the CPU tighty with assurance.

"Let's go home..." Uzume said.


End file.
